Thread-feeding mechanism for straight-knitting machines.



No. 655,046 Patented July 3|, I900. J. N. saunas.

THREAD FEEDING MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT KNITTING PIIAGHINES.-

(Application filed Jan. 30, 1899.) (No Model.) 4Sheets-8heet l.

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A Patented July 3|, I900. J. N. BENNOR. THREAD FEEDING MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT KNITTING MACHINES.

(Application filed Jan. 30, 1899.)

(No Model.)

4 Sheets$heet 2.

Jul/0275M Patented IuIy 3|, I900. J. N. BENNUR.

THREAD FEEDING MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT KNITTING MACHINES.

(Application filed Jan. 30, 1899.)

'4 Sheets$heet s.

(No Model.)

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No. 655,046. Patented Iuly 3|, 1900.

J. N. arman. THREAD FEEDING MECHANISM FOR STRAIGHT KNITTING MACHINES.

(Application and Jan. :30, 1899.)

4 Sheets Sheet 4. I

(No Model.)

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UNITEDZ'STATES PATENT 'QFFICE.

JOSEPH NELSON BENNOR, or MAoon, GEORGIA, Ass enon To THE BIBE MANUFACTURING coMrANY, OF sAM PLACE.

THREAD-FEEDING MECHANlSM For} s TRAleliT-ldllT TlNe MACHINES;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 655,046, dated July 31, 1900. Applicaticfl filed January 30, 1899. Serial No. 703,761. (No model.)

To all who'nt itvnaiy concert t;

Be it known that I, JOSEPH NELson BEN- liOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Macon, in the county of Bibb and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thread-Feeding Mechanism for Straight-Knitting Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention is an improvement on the yarn-feeding mechanism for straight-knitting machines set out in Letters Patent of the United States to William Esty, No. 386,117, dated July 17, 1888, to which reference may be had, my aim being to provide a novel construction and organization of mechanism whereby two independent yarn-feeding de:

vices substantially of the charactershown in said patent may be efiectively operated upon the machinewith the view of supplying to the needles at predetermined intervals yarns of different size or color, as desired. Thus, for example, in'the production of stockings the yarn used in the heel and toe portions may be of different color or different thickness from that 'used in the foot and leg portions thereof.

The precise character and scope of the invention will appear from the following description and claims.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l is an end elevation of a portion of a straight-knitting machine embodyingmy improvement. Fig. 2 is a partial plan thereof, certain parts being in section. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section, as on the line saw of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the yarncarriers and adjuncts. Fig. {5 is a detail of the cam-bars, showing the coacting latch-arm in cross-section. Fig. 6 is a transverse horizontal section of the threadcarrier used in the knitting of the heel and toe parts of a stocking." Fig. 7 is a similar section of the carrier used in the knitting of the foot and leg portions. Fig. Sis a'view of the right-hand end stop with which the rackbars coact.

B B are the oppositely-inclined needle-beds, and g the needles therein.

0 is one of the reciprocating cam-carriages, C the knitting-cams in said carriages, and D the yoke which connects the same with the other carriage. '(Not shown.) M is one of the pattern-chainsg which are disposed below the respective needle-beds and supported upon and intermittently rotated by appropriate wheels M in the usual and well-known manner. The spring-actuated bits 9, which are connected with the lower or free; ends of the vibratory needle=supporting jacks g bear yieldingly upon the links of the underlying pattern-chain, so as to be controlled thereby in a manner to elevate the needles atacertain timeinto the track of the knitting-cams and maintain them thus ele vated for a given period or to permit the needies or some of them to be depressed below such cams at another time and for another period. Each of the chains is provided with a certain number of plain links, upon which bear the spring-actuated bitswhen the needles are in action, and each of the chains is also provided with links having therein relatively-located depressions with which said bits register to eiiect the depression and inaction of the needles. Only one of the chains and one row of needles are indicated in the drawings, as each side of the machine, with its needles and complementary parts, is a duplicate of the other.

It is well known that in the type of straightknitting machines herein considered both sets of needles are simultaneously in action during the knitting operation not only during the production of tubular work, but during the knitting of fashioned work, the number of active needles of each set during the latter operation being of course decreased and increased at predetermined intervals.

E is a bar sustained above and parallel with the rear needle-bed by means of brackets E, rising from the ends of the main frame. In the Esty machine there is fitted and guided on this bar a carrier provided with an overhanging ledge, in which is supported a partially-rotatable spindle which depends directly above the throat of the machine and carries on its lower end a head provided with two relatively-arranged thread-guiding eyes. The spindle is provided with a pinion, with the respective sides of which engage toothed rack-bars arranged in the carrier, to the end 45 l each of these levers is provided with a tooth "65 t "of their respective rock-shafts.

rier is shifted endwise.

alternate succession.that is, during the-knit ting of the foot and leg of the stocking the carrier H is in action while the carrier H is inactive, and conversely. Two racks 1 1 co r act with the pinion on the spindle I of the carrier H, which racks when said carrier is in operation are actuated at predetermined periods by movable stops 1. '11 at the respective ends of the machine, the operation being identical with that of the carrier in the Esty machine during the formation of the toe and heel parts of the stocking. The rack-bars 1 1 are provided with extensions 2 2, which laterally embrace the carrier H, to the end that said extensions will in the traverse of the carrier H clear the other thread-carrier H. The latter carrier is provided with a single rack-bar 3, which in each stroke of the car- In one stroke the end of the rack-bar abuts against the opposing stop 2', while in the return stroke a lateral projection 4: on the bar abuts against a permanent stop 5 on the side of the main frame. No removal or adjustment of the stop 5 is required, as during the knitting of the foot and leg the reversal of the thread-guides takes place at the end of each stroke of the carrier.

The stops t' '21 are moved into and out of action in respect to the rack-bars similarly to the like stops in the Esty machine referred to, as follows: The steps are supported upon horizontally-movable rack-bars P, fitted to hearings on the bar E and coacting with relatively-arranged spur-wheels Q. The hubs of thelatter are provided with pinions R, with which engage segmental gears on the upper arms of rocking levers S, which are fulcrumed upon the end brackets. The lower arm of k, which rests upon an intermittently-movable chain T, the links of which are appro-v priately shaped to insure the actuation of the lever andrequisite adjustment of the stops.

In thepresen-t construction the right-hand end stop against which the spindle-actuating rack-bars abut is provided with a bearingpiece 13 of sufiicient length to receive the impact of the Widely-separated rack-bars 1 1.

The stud-shafts 6, which carry the levers S, are extendedinwardly of the end brackets is interrupted by a suitably-located olfset or cam portion 9. The two bars extend from the,

transverse median line of the machine'to the respective end heads, or nearly so, and are independently movable through the action Pivot ed: tolugs -10 on the rear cam-carriage the opposing sleeve.

C is a latch-arm 11, which extends upwardly against or near to the lower edges of the cambars 8, being yieldingly supported by the action of an underlying spring 12, which is atfixed to the cam-carriage,to the end that when either of the bars is lowered the cam portion 9 thereof will depress the free end of the i latch-arm coactingtherewith.

Each of the thread-carriers is provided on its lower edge with a recess 13, with which the end of the latch-arm is adapted to be engaged when it is desired to reciprocate the carrier. When the latch-arm is engaged with one of the carriers, that carrier only is reciprocated by the cam-carriage, the other threadcarrier remaining quiescent at one end'of the machine. At a prescribed time inthe. knitting operation one of the cam-bars. 8 is depressed through the instrumentality of an appropriate link on the adjacent chain T, the

the proper cam-bar is depressed and the latch- .armthereby disengaged from the thread-carrier. This carrier is thus left at its end of the machine, and the latch-arm'in'a succeedin g stroke reen gages the thread-carrier at the opposite end of the machine. In this way the thread-carriers are thrown into and out of action at certain intervals, as therequirements of the work may demand.

It will be seen that the two thread-carriers travel absolutely in the same path, that they are liberated at opposite ends of the machine, and thatdu ring their engagement by and disengagement from the latch-arm their stations must remain unchanged. It will also be seen .thatthe thread-carrier in operation \Villflblll] against the idle carrier and advance the latter beyond the normal position of engagement and disengagement. A spring-actuated abutment for the idle carrier is therefore provided, which abutment serves normallytoreturn such carrier to the. proper position.

There is an abutment at each end of the.ma-

chine, the same comprising a sleeve 1 4,loosely fitted on a fixed rod 15 and pressed normally inward by a spring 16, which, encircling the rod, bears against the sleeve and. an end bracket 17, by which the rod is supported. This rod lies adjacent to and parallel with the bar E, upon which the carriers slide. Each carrier is provided on its upper'side with a tappet-stud 18, which abuts against Inasmuchas' the carrier H, which delivers of the active carrier.

the yarn tothe needles in the knitting of the foot and leg parts of the stocking, is in operation for a comparatively-long space of time it is desirable to lock the other carrier H in the advanced position until it is required to return the same to its normal station for engagement by the latch-arm on the cam-carriage, as otherwise a prolonged seesawing of the idle carrier H, with its threads, would be occasioned by the rapidly-recurring strokes To this end I fulcrum on the end bracket adjacent to the station of the carrier H a latch-lever 19, one arm of which overhangs the rod 15 and is held normally in the path of the abutment-sleeve by means of a suitably-disposed spring 20. The inner side of the sleeve is beveled or tapered, as at 21, so that when it is advanced by the movement of the idle carrier the sleeve will pass under and raise the lever-arm, which latter, dropping in front of the sleeve, will lock the sleeve in the retracted position. Preparatory to the reengagement of this carrier with the latch-arm on the cam-carriage the latch-lever 19 is raised to release the sleeve, which latter, together with the thread-carrier, is thereupon returned to its normal position by the recoil of the spring.

As a simple and efficient means to actuate the latch-lever at the proper time, I fulcrum loosely on the adjacent shaft 6 a lever 22, one arm of which rests upon the underlying pattern-chain T, while the other arm is provided with a laterally-projecting stud 24, which rests upon the outer arm of the latch-lever. Onepf the links of the chain T is provided with an appropriate riser, which at the proper time rides under the lever-arm and effects thereby the release of the latch-lever.

It will be obvious that locking devicesof the character above described may be used in connection with the carrier H as well as the carrier 11. In fact, where the yarn is weak it will be advisableto provide for the locking of each carrier when it is not in operation.

In the drawings the levers and chains are illustrated in the positions they occupy just prior to the completion of the leg of the stocking, at which stage the substitution of one thread-carrier for the other is efiected. As in this operation the chains are impelled only while the cams are moving from the left to the right hand side of the machine, it is necessary that the latch-arm make three idle strokes, the first of which is from right to left in order that at the proper interval said arm may be connected with the carrier. During these idle strokes all the needles are quiescent, the same being disengaged from the knitting-cams in the usual way through appropriate depressions in the pattern-chains. It will beseen that the teeth or riders on the levers S occupy the same positions relative to the risers ton the links t of the chains T and that the lever 22 lies adjacent to the riser on the link of the left-hand chain. It

will also be seen that the riser on the righthand chain is double the length of that on the other chain. Now in one step of the chains the riser t on the left-hand chain rides under the lever 22 and eifects the release of the locked thread-carrier II, whereupon said carrier is moved to its normal position by the action of the spring 16 in order that at the properti'me the latch may be engaged with said carrier.

In the neXt succeeding step of the chains the teeth or riders 7t mount the risers t on the respective chains, thereby disengaging the latch-arm from the carrier H at the righthand side of the machine, which arm, thus freed, makes an idle reciprocation-that is, from right to left and return. In the next following stroke to the left the riders remain elevated upon the risers t of the respective chains, andthus prevent the engagement of the latch-arm with the carrier H. In the return stroke-that is, from left to right-the riser on the link of the left-handchain escapes the rider 7t, whereupon the corresponding cam-bar 8 is raised, thus permitting the engagement of the latch-arm with the carrier H in the succeeding stroke to the left. During the operation'just explained the other cam-bar 8 remains in its down position by reason of the riser on theright-hand chain being double the length of the other riser, thereby preventing the engagement'of the latch-arm with the carrier H 'at the endof the idle stroke to the right. 7

Excepting as above specificallystated, the pattern-chains are the same in construction and operation as the chains in the Esty machine referred to, and they therefore need no further description herein.

foo

I claim as my invention- 1. In a straight-knitting machine wherein both sets of knitting-needles are simultaneously in action during the knittingopera.

tion, the combination with two oppositelydisposed rows of needles, knittingcams therefor, and pattern mechanismforrendering said needles active or inactive in respect to the knitting-cams, of two independent threadcarriers movable in the same longitudinal.

path and including each a partially-rotatable spindle provided with two thread-guiding.

eyes, means for guiding said carriers, means for actuating the same, and means whereby.

said carriers are independently released and engaged at opposite ends of the machineto gether with means for partially rotating the spindle of each carrier at predeter mined'in-- tervals.

2. In a straight-knitting machine wherein] both sets of knitting-needles are simultaneously in action duringthe knittingopera: tion, the combination with two oppositelydisposed rows of needles, knitting-cams therefor, and pattern mechanism for rendering said needlesactive or inactive in respect to the knitting-cams, of two independent thre'ad carriers movable in the same longitudinal path and including each a partially-rotatable spindle provided withtwo thread-guiding eyes means for guiding said carriers, a movable latch-arm on-one of the cam-carriers, and means whereby said arm is independa ently engaged with and disengaged fromsaid 1 thread-carriers at opposite ends of the machine: together with means for partially rofor guiding the same longitudinally of themachine, a movable latch-arm on the cam-carrier adapted to engage and disengage said threadcarriers at predetermined intervals, at oppo- 1 site ends of the machine, cam-bars movable into and out of the path of said latch-arm,

supports for said bars, and means whereby said supportsare independently actuated;

4; In a knitting-machine of the character I described, the combination with the needlebed, needles, and cam-carrier, of two independent thread-earriers, means for guiding the same longitudinally of the machine, a movable latch-arm on the cam-carrier, adapted to engage and disengage said threadcarriers at predetermined intervals, cam-bars movable into andout of the path of said latcharm, rock-frames supporting said bars, shafts for said frames, pattern mechanism, and independent connections between the same and said shafts.

both sets of knitting-needles are simultaneously in action during the knitting operation, the combination with two oppositely-disposed rows of needles, knitting-cams therefor, and pattern mechanism for rendering said nee dles active or inactive in respect to the knitting-cams,of two independent thread-carriers movable in the same longitudinal path,means for guiding said carriers, means for actuating the same, yielding abutments for said thread-carriers, and means whereby the lattercarriers are independently released and engaged at opposite ends of the machine.

6, In a knitting-machine of the character described, the combination with the needlebed, needles and cam-carriage, of two independent thread-carriers movable in the same longitudinal path,means for guiding said carriers, means for actuating the same, yielding abutments for said carriers, means whereby the idle carrier is locked against the action independently released and engaged at op- V posite ends of the machine, spring-actuated abutments for said carriers, a latch-lever adapted to automatically engage andjlock the idle carrier against the action of its abutment,

: pattern mechanism, and connections between the same and the latch-lever.

8. In a knitting-"machine of the character described, the combination with the needle bed, needles and cam-carrier, of twoindependent thread-carriers, means for guiding the same longitudinally of the machine,a movable latch-arm on said carrier, adapted to engage and disengage said. thread-carriers at predetermined intervals, cam=bars movable ;into and out of the path of said latch-arm, irock-frames supporting said bars, shafts for gsaid frames, pattern mechanism, independ= gent connections between the same and said 'fshafts, spring-actuated abutments for said carriers, a latch-lever adapted to automatic- @ally' engage and lock the idle carrier against lithe action of its abutment, and connections between the pattern mechanism and said r latch-lever.

'5. In a straight-knitting machine wherein 9.' In a knitting-machine of the character carriers are. independently released and enlgaged at opposite ends of the machine.

In testimony whereof I afilx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH NELSON BENNOR. Witnesses: v

R. W. J ERINSON,

.I. T. DAVISON. 

